The effect of intermittent feeding and cold water on performance and carcass traits of broilers reared under daily heat stress.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of intermittent feeding and cold water on performance and carcass traits in broiler chickens between 4 to 6 wk of age exposed to daily high temperature.

Methods: Broilers were assigned to four treatment groups according to a 2×2 factorial design between 22 to 42 d of age (80 broilers per treatment, 4 replications). Broilers were divided into two main groups as feeding type (ad-libitum [AL] and intermittent [IF] for 6 h daily) and sub-groups as water temperature (normal [NW], 24.9°C and cold [CW], 16.4°C). Heat treatment was applied between 11.00 to 17.00 h daily between 22 to 42 d of age.

Results: Live weight at 6th wk was not affected by feeding type and water temperature, but the live weight was significantly higher in IF chickens at the 5th wk (p<0.05). Average weekly gain of IF broiler chickens were higher compared to AL group at 4, 5, and 6 wk of age (p<0.05). Although feeding type did not affect feed intake in 4 and 5th wk, feed intake was higher in IF chickens at 6th wk (p<0.01). In addition, feeding type and water temperature did not affect feed conversion ratio and interactions were not significant (p>0.05). Water temperature had no significant effect on heart, liver, gizzard, and abdominal fat percentages (p>0.05).

Conclusion: It is concluded that IF increased the average weekly gain in chickens reared under daily heat stress for 6 h between 22 to 42 d of age. IF in hot environmental conditions slightly increased performance without adversely affecting health, welfare, and physiological traits, whereas CW implementation had no significant effect on performance. It can also be said that IF suppresses a sudden increase in body temperature depending on age and live weight.